N
niteflight
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I love the way this car looks from the inside almost as much as the outside (can't tell you how happy I am to finally be able to say that). Some scattered impressions:
As I have mentioned before, I sold a '62 Falcon to make room in the garage for the T-Bird. When I first got the Falcon, I remember the revelation of seeing a hood out in front of me again after years of driving Honda Accords and the like, where the road goes all the way down to your kneecaps. The Falcon, being a bird-themed Ford with round tailights and a hoodscoop, shares more than a little DNA with the T-Bird. Having driven the Falcon until recently, I find the view out the T-Bird reminiscent.
On the other hand, unlike the Falcon, the low-slung stance of the T-Bird, with the thrusting fenders gives the impression of a large cat pouncing the road.
Another image came to me last night while driving in the evening. With the snug cockpit, regal roofline, the hoodscoop bulge out front and the cluster of controls centered on it above the console, I was reminded of some exotic and rare luxury coupes of the late '50s and early '60s, like the Facel Vega, Gordon Keeble, Iso Grifo, and Lincoln Mark II. I think the new T-Bird is every bit the equal of those classics in our own time.
Speaking of time and the retro aspect of the car: I find the color of my triple-red to be somewhat "lipstick"-like. I don't mind this; I think it's very hip. I like the way the color on the lower dash picks up the color outside the car. Coupled with the instrument graphics and the afore-mentioned view over the hood, I find that the accumulation of retro elements serves, paradoxically, to make the car seem more futuristic to me than, say, a Taurus ever could. The presence of these half-remembered, yet transformed elements heightens my awareness of just how distant 1955 really is.
This may be a factor of my age - 45. I'm curious how those of you of other ages (or backgrounds) perceive these things.
As I have mentioned before, I sold a '62 Falcon to make room in the garage for the T-Bird. When I first got the Falcon, I remember the revelation of seeing a hood out in front of me again after years of driving Honda Accords and the like, where the road goes all the way down to your kneecaps. The Falcon, being a bird-themed Ford with round tailights and a hoodscoop, shares more than a little DNA with the T-Bird. Having driven the Falcon until recently, I find the view out the T-Bird reminiscent.
On the other hand, unlike the Falcon, the low-slung stance of the T-Bird, with the thrusting fenders gives the impression of a large cat pouncing the road.
Another image came to me last night while driving in the evening. With the snug cockpit, regal roofline, the hoodscoop bulge out front and the cluster of controls centered on it above the console, I was reminded of some exotic and rare luxury coupes of the late '50s and early '60s, like the Facel Vega, Gordon Keeble, Iso Grifo, and Lincoln Mark II. I think the new T-Bird is every bit the equal of those classics in our own time.
Speaking of time and the retro aspect of the car: I find the color of my triple-red to be somewhat "lipstick"-like. I don't mind this; I think it's very hip. I like the way the color on the lower dash picks up the color outside the car. Coupled with the instrument graphics and the afore-mentioned view over the hood, I find that the accumulation of retro elements serves, paradoxically, to make the car seem more futuristic to me than, say, a Taurus ever could. The presence of these half-remembered, yet transformed elements heightens my awareness of just how distant 1955 really is.
This may be a factor of my age - 45. I'm curious how those of you of other ages (or backgrounds) perceive these things.